The present invention relates generally to electrical receptacle connector boxes and, more particularly, to electrical connector boxes having terminal connectors for allowing economical, safe, quick, and easy wiring of both electrical devices and electrical connectors without the use of wire-nuts, and for use with existing junction boxes the electrical connector box is available in a “mini” form providing for a terminal connector insert. Wiring terminals blocks of conducting or non-conducting material, molded into the box and inserts, provide reversible electrical connections between conductor wires and other conductor wires or between conductor wires and electrical devices.
The background information discussed below is presented to better illustrate the novelty of the present invention. This background information is not admitted prior art.
In order to provide for electrical power inside a building, wires carrying electricity are brought into the building from an outside source. Generally, this means connecting an electrical power supply line (also referred to as a wire, a lead wire, or an electrical conductor) to a main box just inside or outside the building. Once inside, electrical conductors must be routed through the walls of the building to the many areas where power is desired and/or required. Once the electrical conductors are positioned within the structure, they must then be connected to either electrical devices or to continuing electrical conductor supply lines to ultimately supply electrical power for an end use, such as for light switches, plug outlets, and the like. Electrical conductors are usually connected to other electrical conductors or to electrical devices within a junction or receptacle box, respectively. A junction box is essentially a container to house electrical conductor connections. The actual electrical connections between a lead line and a wire emanating from an electrical device, such as a light-switch, may be first encased inside of a plastic “wire-nut” which is nothing more than a thimble-shaped and sized plastic cup designed to force the ends of wires together. The wire-nuts with their protruding wires are then housed in an electrical connection box. If a wire-nut is not used to make the connection, electrical tape may be used, although this is considered an unsatisfactory solution as it is well-known that electrical tape loses its properties with time.
Wire-nuts, while supposedly providing for an improvement over the use of electrical tape to secure electrical connections, provide little protection against wires that are connected within the nut becoming disconnected. This is a particular problem where several wire-nut encased wires are positioned within a junction or receptacle box and then must be hard-pressed into the box so that a switch and a switch plate cover is able to be secured over the opening of the box. Squeezing the wire-nut encased wires into the box in such a manner often results in broken connections.
In fact, wires that have been connected within a wire-nut become disconnected so frequently that some wire-nuts are now designed to be crimped. That is, once the wires to be connected are connected and placed inside of the wire-nut, the wire-nut is permanently crimped closed using a wire-nut crimper to ensure that the connected wires inside of the nut stay connected. One of the negative repercussions of crimping wire-nuts, however, is that if a repair or replacement is required after the wire-nut has been crimped, the wires must be cut free from the crimped wire-nut, as it is impossible to remove the wires from the wire-nut after the wire-nut has been crimped. Cutting the wires, however, results in shortened wires which may complicate or eliminate the possibility of any reconnection. This of course, will then require a whole new switch plate with new wires or the wires will have to be spliced which can pose additional safety concerns. And, of course, incomplete crimping may cause the same problems as uncrimped wire-nuts cause that is, a loose connection.
Attempts have been made to provide for securing an electrical receptacle within an outlet box in electronic communication with wiring systems. One example offers an electrical junction box configured to receive electrical conductors through openings in each of the end panels of the box. Each electrical conductor is held in place by clamping means that are located adjacent to an opening. The clamping means, however, includes a contact shoe which is initially formed with the housing, but which is designed to be separated from the housing when the conductor is to be clamped. Breaking a tab that initially anchors the shoe to the housing enables the shoe to be brought into clamping engagement with the conductor at which time the shoe is secured to the housing. However, once the shoe is broken away from the housing to clamp the conductor to the box, it would be difficult to use the box again. If a receptacle or wires need to be replaced or relocated, the box also would have to be replaced. Moreover, such devices do not offer means to connect wires to each other. They are designed only to hold a wire cable secure within the box. These devices require many design features that are structurally complex, suggesting that its manufacturing cost is likely to be relatively high, and thus, unlikely to be universally affordable. It certainly would be desirable to have an affordable, uncomplicated outlet box that provided for the simple, easy, and rapid attachment and detachment of wires as many times as required, without the need to replace the box or any parts of the box.
Another plug and switch receiving device that attempts to offer improved means for securing wires, comprises a complex, multi-part receptacle box that requires at a minimum two discrete pieces that must be attached to each other before the box can be attached to a structure so that a plug, switch, or similar device is able to be attached to a electrical conductor within the box. Another example comprises a plug receptacle that must be first attached to a first front part of a receptacle box and then to a second inner part of the box using spring clips that are designed to extend through the first and second parts to reach a third part at which point connection is made between electrical device wires and a electrical conductor. Such spring-type clips, however, are prone to a loss of their springiness, to breakage, and/or rusting, if metal. This type of custom made device is complicated and requires all of its parts to be specially made, which of course adds significantly to the cost of manufacture. Such devices cannot accept off-the-shelf receptacles or switches as they do not come provided with the requisite prongs for fitting into the spring clips.
Another attempt teaches a specialized style of electrical receptacle outlet box that offers off-set mounting panels adjacent to either side of the box opening. Each mounting panel is angled away from the box opening to allow for easy access of the wiring terminals that are mounted on the interior side of these panels and to allow for conventional wiring to be pre-terminated within the outlet box. Each wiring terminal is shown having a single aperture to accept both wires and wire holding means, which could compromise the integrity of the wires that are positioned in the aperture. Additionally, the atypical shape of such boxes suggests that they would not likely be an acceptable candidate for use in commercial or home construction. Furthermore, these unusually shaped boxes would be much more complex to manufacture and thus are likely to more costly.
Accordingly, it would be a significant improvement in the art to provide for an economical, easy to use, electrical receptacle box of simple design that would allow a user to rapidly and repeatedly, if required, pre-wire or wire conventional residential, commercial, or industrial buildings, especially prior to enclosing such wiring systems behind drywall or other interior wall finish without using wire-nuts, such that the remaining wiring of standard electrical receptacles is easily and safely completed.